Worst Battle
by Scarlet Phlame
Summary: "Hello, old friend," the Doctor finally said, struggling to maintain a smile. "Been a while since I saw you. I'm glad you were independent for a while there. It's best you moved on from an old fool like me." The Doctor visits Sarah Jane one last time. Set after Angels Take Manhattan. Oneshot. (I own nothing.)


How long had it been since he'd stepped foot on the solid Earth ground? Days? Weeks? Months?

Well, it had been ages, he was certain of that.

With a broad smile, he stepped onto the fresh grass, the TARDIS doors closing behind him smoothly. That was very cool. He should get it patented.

"I should get that patented," he voiced aloud, frowning when he remembered Amy and Rory weren't there anymore.

Oops.

"Should stop talking to myself," he noted. "It's the first sign of madness."

Pause.

He burst into a fit of chuckles.

"Right, then, where were we? Oh, yes." Another pause. "What've I come back here for, anyhow? Ohh, think, think, think," he said, tapping his head accordingly.

"You're so thick," he told himself accusingly. "Look, you've gone and forgotten. Again!"

He leaned down towards the grass and picked up a rock. "There we are. Where was I? Oh, yes. Talking to myself. Well, that's rubbish, I mean, come on. Naw, I'll talk to you." he patted the rock with a finger. "Have you got a name? No? Well, I figured."

"Don't... blink," he said, pausing when he came upon a statue. "It's a weeping angel. It's after us. It's made of stone."

Another pause.

"No offense," he told the rock. "You could be an angel, too, you know. Oh, I know what. I'll just leave you here to supervise this angel." he placed the rock on the floor and saluted. "Sir!"

He sighed and walked off. "Talking to rocks. Is that healthy? More healthy than talking to myself. Oh, look, I'm talking to myself now. I must be going mad. Never done that before. I wonder if it's fun? I'd rather be insane than sane right now, anyway, sanity is just rubbish." He kicked at the grass.

"Nice neighborhood," he commented as he walked down a street. "Very quaint. I should get one. Oh, wait, nevermind, that'd be rubbish as well. Too domestic for my likes. I wonder if they'll invent moving houses? Or do spaceships count as those? I know the TARDIS does for me."

He jumped off the street and onto the sidewalk, drumming his fingers against his tweed coat. "Well, that is brilliant," he said, chuckling at a little garden gnome sitting peacefully in a nearby patch of grass. "Are you an angel as well, then? Naw, just a gnome. Blimey, I must be going insane." he sighed and sat down on the ground, bored.

"Are you insane?" he finally asked the gnome. "Am I insane? Do you think I'm insane?"

"Sir," a disembodied voice nearby said.

"Oh, now I'm hearing things as well," the Doctor said absently. "Isn't that brilliant. I wonder if I can get that patented as well."

"Who are you talking to?" the Doctor looked up to see none other than Luke, Sarah Jane Smith's son. He immediately jumped up with a smile.

"HA! I knew I was here for a reason. I must've misplaced my mind for a moment there. I sincerely apologize for that, Luke."

"What are you doing here, Doctor?"

"Ohh, you're a smart one," the Doctor said, patting Luke on the head. "Is your mother around?" Luke paused for a second, then shrugged.

"She's... gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" the Doctor asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Luke asked quietly.

"Hear? Hear what?" the Doctor asked a little more nervously, straightening his bowtie subconsciously.

"She passed away a few weeks ago," Luke said.

"What." the Doctor said sharply, his voice hitting a low note.

"Yeah," Luke said, sitting down on the curb, the Doctor following suit. "She's buried a few blocks that way." he pointed to the west. "Still..." he sighed. "She lived a good life. She was always talking about you."

"Don't say that," the Doctor said. "Because this isn't the only time I've been too late. I don't want her missing me. Now, where were we? Out you come, Sarah Jane!" he tapped his foot on the pavement, waiting for her to pop out of the house or peek her head out of the bushes. Something.

"I said," Luke repeated. "It isn't a lie."

"No," the Doctor said. "Can't be."

* * *

"Here we are," Luke said, showing the Doctor into the graveyard.

"Oh, great good this does," the Doctor said with a scoff. "She hates graveyards. Sticking people in the ground and all that. She says so."

"Said so," Luke corrected. "It's not a lie, Doctor." the two figures moved over to a little grave, small blue and yellow flowers growing in scattered areas surrounding it. The headstone read 'Sarah Jane Smith, beloved mother and companion, aged 65'.

"Hello, old friend," the Doctor finally said, struggling to maintain a smile. "Been a while since I saw you. I'm glad you were independent for a while there. It's best you moved on from an old fool like me."

Another pause.

"You know, this is the second stone I've spoken to today," the Doctor joked. "Although this is much different considering the circumstances, yes?"

Luke eyed the ground.

"Too many," the Doctor finally said.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Too many," he said. "Too many gravestones lately. It's just too much. She wasn't supposed to go. But I'm glad she went like this. It's better than her dying on some alien planet. At least this time it's not my fault." he chuckled dryly.

"Sorry," Luke said.

"No, I'm sorry," the Doctor said, turning to Luke. "She was your mother." he turned back to the gravestone.

"It was the cancer," Luke said quietly. "The one battle we couldn't win."

"Those," the Doctor said. "are always the worst."


End file.
